Heating and purifying water.



G. H. GIBSON.

HEATING AND PURLFYING- WATER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 27, 1911. I LOSQS@ Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

IN VEN TOR uw A A TTORNE Y vA A E MMA WJTNESSES pitting n. A.

Patented Dc. 9, 1913.

, 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IN VEN TOR w1 TNssEs iinrrii, sentirne rnrrnnr ernten.

GEGRGE H. GIBSON, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JEFEY, SS'IGNOR TO JOSEPH Si LOVERNG NHARTON, WILLIAM S. HALLOWELL, ABH? HN G. JONES, ALL OF PHILADELFHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, 'DOING 'BUSINESS AS THE FIRM CF HAEESON SAFETY BOILER WOR-KS, OF PHXLADELPHIA, PENSYLVANXA,

HEATING ANB UBFYNG WATER.

insonne.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application sile may 27, 15,911.

ratenteuneee, ieie.

Serial No. 629,376,

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, Gnome' H. Grinsen, a citizen ,of the United States of America, residing in Montclair, in the county oiZ Essex and State of New ilersey, have invented a certain new and useful improvenient in Heating 'and Purifying Water, ot which the following is a true and exact description, reference being had to the eccompanying drawings, which form e part thereof.

My present invention relates to the purii'icetion of Water, and particularly to the preparation of purified Water for boiler feed. purposes out of the Water of condensation formed from steam supplied to steam engines and suoliadditional raw Water as may 'be required.

The water of condensation. formed from the steam exhausted from steam engines is prectically free from the hardening or other impurities ordinarily "found in natural Water but does contain oil iii amount Sullicient, tonialie it desirable to separate the oil out of the Water. The oil contained by the condensate from the steam supplied to steam engines is largely in a very finely divided state or condition, being virtually in the torni of an emulsion and cannot be satisfactorily removed by ordinary filtering processes. rihe raw makeup Writer ordinarily contains impurities which it is desirable to eliminateA or` modify before the 'water passed to steam generating boilers in order yto prevent objectionable scale formation th ereiii.

l have found that Water suitzble for feed Water purposes, c'. c. suiticieiitly hot, sott, and free from oil and other objectionable impurities may loe prepared out of the oil containing condensate from steam exhausted from steam engincsaiid ruw nui-heup wncr by a comparatively simple operation and by the eid of simple end effective apparatus, an d my invention consists in part, in the method and in part in the apparatus employed for this purpose.

In carrying out my invention l. mix the Waterfrom the two sources in a chamber intov which steam is passed to heat the Water practically tothe boiling temperature and add-'to ythe water a lchemical agentWh-ich servesfthe double iuncltion. of raising the electrical conductivity of the water and of eecting a. separation or a partial separation and partial conversion of the impurities contained in the makeup water. l then subject the chemically 'treated und heated mixture of water from the two sources to the action of an electric curi-cnt passing' between suitable electrodes nud finally subject the electrolyzed and chemically treated Water to a iilterin process. l employ as nnodes,

electrodes oi iron or nluminuni on account,

of the tlocculation effect of the ions entering the Water trom the :modes ot' these matei'ials, and in prut-tico l prefer that both the anodes and cntliodes be formed ot iron.

Practically any chemical reagent which is suitable 'for use in softening; und' purifying Water for boiler feed purposes may be usedin carrying out the present invention. In

practice, I prete-r to use Jfor this purpose a reagent composed wholly or largely of Soda ash (sodium carbonate) or of tri-sodium-4 phospliatc. The softening action ot such reagents, particularly in converting and precipitating the calcium and magnesium compounds ordinarily found in naturel Waters and giving the latter its hardness, both tem poi-ery and permanent, is well known and does not require explanation.

An electric current passing through Water between suitable electrodes is highly etlective in tlocculating the emulsilied particles of oil contained therein which are agglomereted to an extent which permits of their ready removal by ordinary ltering procceses, and is eiective also in occulating or coagulating, and thereby making possible the removal of particles precipitated from the added row Water which would otherwise, on eccoun't et their lIineiiess, pass through tlie filter in part, and in' port poss into, and objectionably clog the filter. The electric current also coe'ulates and makes possible the removal oi: elbuminoid and 'other orgeniciijnpurities contained' in the raw Water. The coaguleting or iocculeting etlect' of the electric current enea-ch of the different finely divided material referred to, is, I. believe enhanced by the presence of i which I )with particuln-rity in the clei-ms annexed to and forming a part ot this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, and the advantages possessed by it, reference should he had to the acconn panying drawings and descriptive matter in Awhich [have illustrated and described prelar to Fig. i of a slightly modified form f apparatus. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a portioiref the apparatus employed in Fig. l, taken at rightangles to that figure. Fig. L is a partial section on the line 4---4, ot' Fig. l and Fig. 5 is a partial section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, A, 'represents the heater tank rovided with the usual steam inlet port leading from the steam chamber l which contains the usual'oil separator and is supplied with steam for heating the water in the tank through the pipe B2.

A?, representsl an overflow channel which' opens into the waste box C.

The oil and other impurities collected in the lower end of the chamber B vasses through the pipe Bi to the Waste box and with the overflow entering the Waste box are intermittently discharged through the port` C and valve D controlling the latter (see Fig. The valve, I) is controlled in turn by a fioat il connected to the valve through the rockshaft D2 and the usual connecting arms and links, The impurities collecting in the bottom of the tank A may be removed from time to time through the valve eontrolled sludge take off pipe E.

The raw water to be heated and treated is passed into the upper end of the heater through the raw water makeup pipe l, and the water of condensation enters the heater through the pipe ll. These pipes diseharge into a trough-like member l" from which the w'aler overflows onto banksl of' oppositely inclined trays or ballies (i, mounted in tray guidesI fl. lliy introducing the water in this manner the water is divided into filmlike and broken atrearns,4 thus facilitating the purification of the water and its heating,r by the steam adn'litted through the pipe B2, chamber B and pa=sage A.. The 'chemical 'purifyingl and softening agent is also discharged into the box F ,as through the pipe J. As shown in- Fig. l, the supply of this chemical agent. is directly proportional to the amount. et' water withdrawn treni the heater through the service discharge pipe L, since the latter leads from the heater to the inlet of' the water pumping cylinder h 2 of a pump'mechanism M which includesl also a steam driving cylinder M', and aV outlet port. of \vhieh the pipe .l leads. rI ihe flow of water through the pipes ll and l is `controlled by valves .i and ll operated by floats N and t) loeatetl within the heater and moved by variations ol' the water level within the heater to open the valve ll in the water of comlenstilion lsupply `pipe ll when the water lewl in the beater falls below one predetermined level, and to open the valve l in the malte up water supply pipe l when the water level falls to a set-ond and lower prtuletelmiued level, and to ('iose these valves in the reverse order as the water level rises first to one and then to the other predetermined level.

ln the form of appa ratio'` shown in Fig. l,

a transverse partition wall A" and per- A and above the `wall .A4 at A7, is provided for insuring a supply of water to the service discharge pipe L when the filter so clogged that water will not flow` through `it rapidly enough to supply the demand. For praetical reasons consider it desirable that the level of the upper end ofthe 'overfiow passage A2 should be higher than the level of the upper ,end of the passage A, and that thebypass ripening A isho'uld be between the two over ow levels.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, horizontal plate-like electrodes .1 and Q are a1'- ranged in the tank below the water level and partly below the bottom wall A of the filter chamber and partly below the trays G. For reasons not necessarily dependent upon the eleetrolytic function ot' these plates, I prefer that they be arranged to transversely overlap, as shown, since this arrangement tends to increase the amount of precipitates sepa rated out of the water before the filter bed is reached. In the case of recipitates genO erally, the separation out ofp depends largely upon the distance the precipitated particles must fall before reaching A a surface or surfaces upon which they can collect, and thetime available for the fall, and in the ease of fine precipitates, c rrcnts, such as eddy and convection currents, man terially decrease the settling out of the pre cipitates. By arranging the electrodes, as shown, so that the Water is compelled to flow through a number of comparatively shallow the precipitates' channels, the distance through which tha precipitate particles must fall before findingy Chemical pumping cylinder M3 from the l surfaces upon which they can lodge is dei in the resistance to this Looee creased and disturbing` current eliccts nrc minimized. The equality ot' flow through the various horizontal channels between the electrodes contribute also to the ctlectivenesl of the electrolytic action. The electrodes l and Q are supported in any suitable manner, ns by means of brackets A secured to the opposite sides otl the heater tank. "llic negative electrodes Q rest directly upon the brackets As and are thus electrically connected to the inetullic shell of the tool: body. The positive electrodes l should bc insulated, however, from the tank Shell to amid electroilytic `ction on the heater proper. As shown, this insulation is effected by blocke` or pads P2 formed of insulating material iii- 'tcrposed between the electrodes P iin-d the tenir shell and brackets Af. -'l`iansverse riliraI l and Q may be formed on trie upper sides of the electrodes as shown, to increase the amount ci precipitates collected on the electrodes. The positive electrodes P are connected through branch conductors R2 and a mein conductor R to one pole of e suitable source of current, as the generator R, and theI other pole of the generator is connected directly to the tank body and hence to the electrodes Q. As shown in Fig. l, the generator R is driven by n suitable motor S und a rheostat R* eutoinntizilly actuated, ue byv the elec'troinagnet R", in response to the current how throu h the circuit including the'y electrodes P an Q, is employed to adjust the field excitation of the generator R to maintain e constant electrical current flow of the proper strength between the electrodee E? and Q, regardies of the variations The general inode of u'seo the apparatus willbe apparent from the foregoing explo net/ion. `Vle..,considerable proportion of the solid impurities *found in the Water after it hee' been heated and acted upon bythe added 'rongentlor reagents is in the form of precipi tetes eo finely divided es to constitute a more or lees permanent, suspension. But for the electtrolytic notion of the current passing between the electrodes? and Q, the' sue` pended matter und the oil in emulsion in arge part at least would neither be directly i.precipitfited in the heater tank nor entirely I strained out of the Weiter by the filter.A The addition of the raw water with its impurities and the addition of the soda oeh or other chemical-l reagent serves to give Athe entire body ot Water treated e substantially higher conductivity than is possessed by the water of condensation entering the heater through the supply pipe H. -The passage of electii'c current between the electrodes l) and Q so :iftectsthe Solid mutter held in suspension in the Water, and so destroys the einulsited condition of the oil that; the solid nuittei' and oil coagnlate and may be readily removed lg,

" vliltratioii or subsidence. lnipurities collecting and floating as n senin at the top of the water may be tloated otlt'ioni time to time through the overflow connections A2 zuid A by temporarily rinsing the water level in the heater when it is desired to do this. The vapors and excess steam may esca e from the heater through the outlet pipe l believe tout the beneficial effects ohtained by treating writer in accordance with the preeent invention may be correctly eitn pluined fis follows: lhe emulsified particle@ of cil bear negative charges of electricity and hence are mutually repellent. The fine precipitate particles in more or less permenent suspension in the water also beur charges of electricity. These charges muy he positive or negative, but in general I believe that the solid particles in suspension iii the writer treated in accordance with the present invention, bear newative charges. The action of the current flowing through the water between the electrodes is to nentralize the electrical charges borne by the oil and other suspended particles. This is brought about by the chai edions set tree in the water at the electro es by 'the action ot the electric current which contact with the charged particles in suspension in the i water and neutralize the charges borne by the letter-end thus exert o locculating et- 95' feet. ln particular, T believe that in carrying out the invention as ldescribed above, wherein both oil und solid particles in suspension are negatively charged these charges 'nre nent rnlized by means of positive charges 155 of electricity borne by the colloidal hydrate of iron or aluminum ione eet free vat the positive electrodes, the'nature of the hydra-te of course depending on Whether 'or not these electrodes are of iron .or aluminum. l he- 155 lic-ve that the joint presence of the oil emulvsion particles and the finely divided iinyticlee ot' oil audsuspendedesolid impuritiesv '115 ere neutralized. rlhe more .numerous the precipitates the larger ere the resultant parrieles or ngglomeretione :and the more rep# 'idly they fell through the. water. The'large fnl-ling particles have the beiieciiil'eti'ect of 12@ screening the Water; t'. e. of carrying down the iner precipitates 'in suspension which might otherwise be vci'yslow in falling. The heating; of the water characteristic of my invention, is in itselic beneficial in fur 125 thea-ing the precipitation of the suspended or colloidal matt-er contained by the water.

Whether or not the explanation of the theory of operation given in the foregoing paragraph is coi-rect, the mode of treatment 13@ described is highly successful in the produc- I tion of heated .and purified water suitable for boiler'feedpurposes out of the oil containing condensate andv impure raw water.

The apparatus 'shown in Fig. 2 differs from that shown in Fig. 1 `in that the'water of condensation supply aipe H discharges into a box FA located a ove the filter bed and from which the water passes down in the filter chamber over a correspondin set of trays GA mounted in tray guides A. In this form there is also a branch chemical supply pipe JA which discharges into the box FA. The'chemical supply pipe J running to the box F is controlled by a vulve JN and the branch chemical supply pipe JA is controlled by a valve J 1". The valve 1 J1o is controlled by the float 0 which con-A trols the valve I and similarly the valve J11 is controlled by the float N which also con- 'trols the valve H. To permit the chemical the pipe L to the filter tank supply pump lto operate Without damaging the apparatus when the valves J l and J are both closed, I provide' a bypass J 2 about the pump cylinder M2; this bypass containing a 'loaded valve J 21. In the form of a paratus shown in FigL, the electrodes 1 and Q1 are in the form of vertical plates suspended in the filter chamber as by means of the suspension arms P and Q securedto the top wall of the tank. The suspension arms P11 for the positive electrodes arev sulated from the tank wall, as by means of The einulsilied oil particles und solid. irnpu rilies fine enough to pass through the filter bed sommi-tedby the plate 1V removed either by subsidence in the filter chamber of the heater or by the action ofl'the lilter T alter the 'water is elcctrolyncd. The apparatus of Fig. 2 is particularly intended for use where the Water or' condensation forms a relativcly'large' portion oi' the total amount ol' water treated.

llaving now described my invention, what llV claim as new und desire to secure by Letters latcnt. is:

'lv The method of prci'iaring heated and purified water suitable for boiler,` feed purposes out of the oil containing condensate y from steam engines and ruw makeup water,

which consists in mixing with the oil containing condensate, raw makeup water in amount suflicient to supply the demand for heated and purified water, and heating the water from -the two sources and adding a chemical reagent for increasing the electrical conductivity of the water and for pre c'ipitating or converting the boiler incrusting impurities in the raw Water component ofV the yheated water and subjecting the heated and'chemically treated water to electrolytic action and thereafter tilteringthe water.

Q 'The method of preparin heated and purified water suitable for hoi er feed purposes out of the oil containing condensate of steamengines and raw makeup water which consists in mixing with the oil containing condensate, raw maken Water in amount sufficient to supply the demand for heated and purified water, and heating the water from the two'sources and adding a chemical reagent adapted for `increasnn the electrical conductivity of the water an for precipitating or converting .the boiler incrustin impurities in the raw water component 0% the'heated water and electrolyzing the mixture in such manner as to generate therein` positively charged colloidal hy drate ions and thereafter `filtering the water.- 3.r The method of preparing heated and purified water suitable for boiler feed purposes out of the oil containing condensate of steam engines and `raw makeup water which consists in mixing with the oil containing condensate, raw maken water in amount suicient to supply the emand for heated and purlfied water and heatin the water from two sources and adding a c emical reagent for increasing the electrical con- 'ductvity of the water and for precipitatf -ing or converting the boiler lncrusting 1mpuritics in the raw water component of the heated water and electrolyzing the mixture in such manner as to neratetherein posi tively charged iron hy rate ions.

Y 4. Apparatus for heating andpurifying water having in combination a water heater comprising a heating chamber and'means 110 for supplying water to be treated, steam Afor heating.r the water, and a chemical purifying agei'it to said chanlber, und for discharging hot water therefrom, said means including provisions for limiting the height of the water level in the heater, electrode surfaces located in said heating chamber below the water level therein and means for causing,1 an electric current to flow between said surfaces through the walter eontacting them.

Apparatus for heating and lpurifying water having in combination a Water heater `formed with a main heating chamber and a filter chamber and provided with a filter bed through which water may flow from said main chamber into said filter chamber, means for supplying Water to be treated, steam for heating the Water and a chemical' purifying agent to said heater and for 13o discharging hot' water therefrom, said means includingT a hot water service disehai'ee outlet from the tilter chamber, separate overflow provisions for the two chamliersand provisions for discharging Water to he treated into the upper end of said main ehaniher, electrode surfaces located in said heater helow `the noruial water level and mean` for eausingr :in elect-ric currentI to How hetween said surfaces through the water hetween theni.

'(5. Apparatus` for heating and purifying water havingr in eoinhiinition a Water heater 'ornied with a main heating chamber and a filter elianihenanrl provided with a filter hed through which water may flow from said main Chanilier into said filter chamber, means for'supplying` water to he treated, steam for heating' the water and a chemieal purifying agent to said chanilier and for disehargiiie; vhot water therefrom, said means ineluding a hot water Service discharge outlet t'roin the filter chaniher, overtlow provisions, and provisions Yfor discharge inel` water to he treated into the upper end ot' aid main eliainher, electrodes located. in .Said main chainhcr and-arrangetl to roride a plurality of separate channels t rough whieh water passes from the main chan'ilier to said filter hed, and means for eausing'an elet-trie euri-ent to flow between said elec-v trodes through the water between them.

T. Apparatus for heating and purityingir water haring in combination a water heater formed with a main heating chamber and a llter ehanilier and provided with a filter bed through which water may flow from said main chamber into said filter chamber, means -for supplying water to he treated, steam for heating the water and a Chemical pu1"if vinj.',y agent to' said Chamber and for discharging liot water therefrom, said means including a hot vater lwei-vice dis-l eli: ree outlet from the filter chamber, overflow proviSionS, and provieions for disehargineIr water to he treated into the upper end ot' said main elianiher, and plates lot-ated in said main ehiiniher providing superimposed ehannels through which the witter Hows from said niain chtinilier tosaid tilter hed.

S. Apparatus for heating :intl purifying water havingr in combination a water heater comprising :i heating'r ehiinilier :ind means tor suppli'ine to -said ehunilier water of contlen atton and nialv'eup water.A steam for heating' the water and a ehemieal purifying agent, a hot water Ierviee tliseharyje ronneetion leading;` troni said ehanilier, means for limiting' the maximum height. of water level in the heater iiieliulinLr menus respon- V ive to the accumulation ot' wiiterin the heater t'or cutting ott the supply of the makeup water t-o the heater, electrode Si1rt'aeehl loeated in said heating chamber bei low the watervlevel therein :intl means for, eausine' :in eleetrie current to tlow between aid surlaees-througrh the water contacting them.

GEO.` il. GIBSON.

'it nee-ses:

ll. l). li. lnion'ig lttiiniirr i. (TLIF'roN. 

